Navy nurse thanks Vero Beach Elks Lodge members in person for cookies

VERO BEACH — When Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kathryn Wilgus wasn't busy caring for patients in Afghanistan, she had a secret passion — munching on cookies from the cookie ladies of Vero Beach, who were sending her the sweet treats for two years.

Wilgus, 43, a Navy Reservist, is home from her last tour of duty in Afghanistan and expects to be discharged on April 25. She drove to Vero Beach from Virginia to express her thanks in person Saturday night at a special dinner at the Elks Lodge 1774.

"The first time I got a box of cookies from Vero Beach, there was a note inside from Rose Trufano, asking me to keep in touch by email," said Wilgus. "So I sent some photos and passed out the cookies. And every time a box would come with more cookies, I sent more photos and Rose and I became friends."

Trufano has been baking, packing and shipping cookies for soldiers for more than five years, first through the Italian-American Civic Association and now through Elks Lodge 1774. About 30 people bring cookies each month to the club and help pack and ship more than 30 boxes to members of the armed forces.

"In the beginning, I never thought I would get a chance to meet any of our soldiers that we were sending cookies to," Trufano said. "But over the past few years, we've met four or five of them who got in touch with us when they came back to the United States. It has been a wonderful experience."

June Vitti has been part of the cookie project for several years and said Trufano regards the cookie recipients as "her kids."

"She knows all their names," said Vitti. "She is familiar with APO numbers and if she gets a box returned, she is beside herself."

Wilgus, who will return to her job as a perioperative nurse at Florida Hospital Health Systems in Orlando, said the cookies she received were fresh and delicious, and a wonderful reminder from folks at home.

"It meant the world that people who didn't even know us would put so much effort into the cookies," said Wilgus. "It was always a great sight to see the box because it meant someone cared enough to make you cookies."

Although she has served in Afghanistan since 2010, Wilgus was deployed to several different locations, and said the cookie ladies always seemed to find her.

"I was in the mountains for almost two years but then I moved to Kandahar," Wilgus said. "When I told Rose I was moving, she said as soon as I had an address, she would send the cookies and she did."

With life away from family and friends often difficult, Wilgus said military service members appreciated the cookies from home.

"Every time a box would come, we would open them up and they'd be wrapped in plastic and foil," remembered Wilgus. "It was like Christmas — you never knew exactly what you were going to get. It was wonderful."

To thank the cookie club for its support, Wilgus presented each with one of her personal Navy coins, and a Navy paddle for the wall of the lodge with the words "A Balanced Diet is a Cookie in Each Hand."

"I know they're just cookies but I know they are from your heart," Wilgus said.